Orphaned Sara
by TerraRini
Summary: A story of a troubled pre-teen and her brief stay at Hogwarts Castle. Some Fred and George Weasley, and a bit of Snape thrown in.
1. A London Beginning

Disclaimer: Many of the names and locations used in this story are owned by J.K. Rowling and I do not wish to assume any claim of them, I am merely using them to help my imagination along….

**Orphaned Sara**

There's not much I recall about my parents. My mother, Ariana was beautiful, a half-blood with a marvelous voice that even the most pure and prejudiced of the wizarding world enjoyed. It was her voice that brought us to the Whippets home in London, a grand estate on the outskirts of the city known for frequent galas.

My father was a wizard, well known for his potions skills. He owned an apothecary shop in Hogsmeade, where he sold many of the herbal concoctions he spent most of his time brewing in the basement of our home.

My last night with them was spent enjoying the attentions of the Whippets and their guests while my mother sang at a dinner party in their home. My fondest memory is that of a dance I shared with my father. We danced to my mother's voice, bringing on applause from all of those around us. I stood on his toes as the music slowed. The cologne he wore filled my nose, and I buried my face in his stomach while he moved his feet in time to the music.

Behind me, the long burgundy drapes whispered in the breeze from the open doors, and my father's dress shoes clicked softly on the polished marble floor. It was a lovely night, and it has made an even lovelier memory. Every morning when I wake, I wish I was that five year old girl again, standing on my father's toes, and listening to my mother's sweet voice as she sang.

Unfortunately, one cannot go back, only forward. I was sent home with my governess long before the party ended. I fell asleep on the long drive back to our small manor home. It was a peaceful ride… the calm before the storm.

I awoke the next morning to Minnie's slender hand shaking my shoulder. "Sara, wake up. Hurry…we've got to go." She urged, pulling the blankets off of me and sliding my limp arm into my heavy wool coat. I yawned, stretching as she shoved my boots onto my bare feet, without my socks. I frowned. "Minnie, what's going on?"

She didn't answer, pulling me up from the bed and dragging me out of my bedroom and down the hall to Daddy's office. She pulled me into the room, and closed the door behind me. I could hear something banging downstairs, but Minnie picked up Daddy's desk-lamp. "Grab hold, Sara, now."

I did as she told, and a few seconds later we were on a sidewalk in a quiet muggle village. It was so early there was no one on the street as we walked quickly down the sidewalk. Minnie still pulled me faster than my feet could move and I stumbled. She caught me, and stopped still in her tracks. She turned and knelt facing me.

"Sara, something's happened. Your parents have been killed. I…..I'm sorry." She looked at me with a worried expression. "I don't have much time..I'm supposed to be at the school by now.. they'll start looking for me soon. Listen, I'm going to have to leave you, and it may be a long time before I can come back for you. You must promise that until I come back for you, you cannot talk about magic. Not a word about being a witch, nothing, do you promise?"

I am not sure why, but I nodded, and without another word she pulled me along again. A few minutes later we were standing in front of an orphanage and after a moment's exchange of words with the headmistress, Minnie had left me in the care of Miss Penelope Evans, headmistress of the Clearwater House For Orphaned Children. I was a very confused five year old.

My first few months at the orphanage were filled with adaptations. I learned to live among muggles as if I were one with an uncanny ease that I think would have impressed my wizarding compatriots. My only lapse was that at first sight of a broom I made an attempt to mount up and fly the two foot altitude children of my age were allowed, only to find that my broom didn't rise at the command of "up" and I was being looked at strangely by the children around me.

After that, I spent a while observing the other children and how they played. I was considered an unusual child, but not one to be feared or avoided. The other children merely tolerated me as I tagged along behind.

For a while, I was angry, and then anger turned into hurt. I wanted to know why my parents had been taken away. I wanted to hurt the wizard responsible. I wanted…so dearly, to go back to the wizarding world, where I could learn how to fight. I waited every day for a sign of my governess, but first months, and then years passed. When I was eight, I was adopted by a couple by the last name Barrett, and moved to a cottage in the country. I wailed and screamed when they drove me away from the orphanage. How would Minnie find me?

Time went on, and I attended the local school, and made a few friends. I fit in, and my adoptive parents loved me. Life was good. Until the day an elderly chap in a long cloak arrived on our doorstep and insisted he speak to my parents. I recalled little from before my arrival at the orphanage, but I knew enough to know this was a wizard, and I wasn't sure if he was of the better sort.

At a curious eleven years old, I stood outside the door of James Barrett's study, my ear pressed to the hard wood listening to the wizard telling my adoptive father about my origins, and I heard him mention that I had been signed up to go to a school called Hogwarts somewhere up north, and if Mr. and Mrs. Barrett were willing to sign the forms, I could attend free of charge. I could picture my parents exchanging looks of confusion, probably shaking their heads no. What would happen if Mr. Barrett said no I wondered? Would they look at me strangely from now on? Would I be allowed to return to our world, and fight Lord Voldemort?

I heard Mr. Barrett's deep voice say "No." and sighed. I raised a slender hand to the door, knocking softly. It was a moment before the door opened, and my adoptive mother, Margaret stood there looking down at me with concern. At least it was concern and not hate. I was afraid they'd hate me because I was different.. but concern…that meant she at least still loved me. I looked over to Mr. Barrett, and took a few steps into the room. I looked first at him, and then moved my gaze back to her.

Standing there nervously I looked finally upon Albus Dumbledore. He looked at me with a strange piercing look, as if he was sizing me up. I took a deep breath, and spoke. "Mum, Dad, I want to go."

Mother's eyes filled up with tears. She'd been unable to bear children, though Doctors had done everything they could. She had been a very loving, doting mother. It would be hard being away from her, but I had to go back, I needed to know more about my birth parents, about whom they were, and who I was. I needed to learn more about Voldemort, and how to destroy him.

James wrapped his arm around her, murmuring calming words to her. Through a lump in my throat I continued. "It's not because I'm unhappy here. You've been the best parents I could have hoped for, and…I'm going to miss you every second I'm away…but I think I need to go. My parents died when I was five. I remember the night.. and I want to know..who killed them, and why. I want to learn about magic."

The look on the wizard's face was still one of curiosity. I wondered what he thought of me.

Finally, my father let go of Mrs. Barrett and came over to me, taking me by the hand, he knelt down in front of me. His brown eyes scanned my face, and then nodded, looking back to Margaret. "I think she should go."

Albus Dumbledore stood up, and held out a roll of parchment which contained lists of what appeared to be books, and other necessities I would need. "School starts in two weeks.. I will send someone to help you get your books. I look forward to having you at Hogwarts, Miss Barrett."

There was an obvious glance between him and Dad, and I was ushered out of the room by my mother, who with a teary glance at me, closed the door once more, leaving me by myself in the hall. I smiled to myself. What an adventure I was about to begin!


	2. Diagon Alley

Around eight o'clock on the morning of August 28th, there was a knock on the door that woke the entire house with a start. Mr. Barrett put down his morning paper suddenly and rose to his feet nervously, checking his watch, and then looking to his wife. "Better make sure she's ready dear…." He said, talking about his adopted daughter Sara. He made his way toward the door as quickly as he could, not wanting to keep their guest waiting. When he opened the door, a pale, dark haired man was standing out in the doorway wearing a dark business suit. Mr. Barrett was just about to say they weren't interested in whatever the salesman might be offering, when the man spoke.

"Good morning, Mr. Barrett. I am Professor Severus Snape, here to collect your Daughter.."

Mr. Barrett blinked, opened his mouth to comment on his attire, thought better of it, and nodded, stepping back. "Please do come in, Sir."

Professor Snape smiled, and stepped in, allowing the door to be closed behind him and glancing around. He'd spent much of his life near muggle villages. His father was a muggle, and insisted on keeping up both muggle and wizard relations.

Just as the door closed, a girl of eleven or so came down the stairs, arriving at the landing with a nervous and yet somehow dignified air. Her mother, adoptive mother, came down behind her, carrying a purse. Snape's eyes wandered over both of them, flickering from daughter to mother with a confused look on his face. You couldn't tell that the child was adopted, having very similar features as those of the woman who stood behind her.

"Miss Barrett, I presume." Professor Snape politely bowed his head.

Sara smiled and nodded. "Yes, Sir." She replied.

Her mother cleared her throat and held out the purse she'd carried down the stairs. "Mr. Barrett and I weren't sure how much Sara's supplies would cost, so we took a couple hundred dollars out of the bank, will that do, Professor Snape?"

The professor frowned, at first reaching out to accept the purse, but upon hearing Mrs. Barrett's words, he shook his head. "The Headmaster didn't tell you about Sara's inheritance?" He asked, confused, he looked from Mr. Barrett to his wife.

"Inheritance?" Mr. Barrett asked, looking bewildered. "We weren't under the impression she'd inherited anything.."

Snape nodded. "Professor Dumbledore gave me the key to her vault at Gringotts this morning. Number 322…" He pulled the key out and showed it to them. "I believe her school expenses will be more than covered by the vault's contents."

A short while later, Sara and Professor Snape were riding in a small black car toward a pub he called the Leaky Cauldron. When they arrived, he'd led her through the quiet pub toward a door that led out behind, into a small garden lined with a brick wall. He pulled out his wand and showed Sara the order in which one had to tap the bricks in order to enter the wizard village.

The streets of Diagon Alley were bustling with activity the weekend before the start of term. Children were running from shop window to shop window, glancing in at new and exciting window dressings while parents followed, a little more subdued under packages and bags of purchases. Some older students hailed fellow classmates across the cobbled streets and met to share stories of their summer adventures.

Sara looked back and forth at all the new sights, things she'd never dreamed of seeing. Everyone everywhere was dressed differently, wearing robes and pointed hats of varying colors and styles. Owls fluttered in and out of shops delivering daily mail. Everything was so different from the muggle village Sara had grown up in.

With obvious pleasure, Professor Snape led Sara into one of the shops, where robes were sold. "Hogwarts robes, Madam Malkin." He stated simply as Sara was ushered onto a small platform and a measuring tape began taking measurements. A short time later she had been pinned, and then unpinned from the robes, and allowed to move freely as the robes were magically hemmed by the seamstress.

The next shop was Slug and Jiggers Apothecary, where Snape showed Sara which items she'd need for her potions lessons, and picked up a few things he needed for his own stores. She turned every which way while they were in the store looking at the millions of different jars containing powders, lotions, juices, and bits of pickled plants and animals.

After the Apothecary, Snape led Sara to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor where they sat and had Pineapple Sundaes together while Professor Snape asked Sara what she thought about everything she'd seen. So far, she told him, she'd been amazed by everything.

"Your list says you're allowed a companion animal..I think we'll go into Magical Menagerie next, so you can pick one out." He smiled. "I had a wonderful pet toad when I was your age, but I'm afraid they've gone out of style."

Sara finished her Sundae and lifted the napkin to wipe her face. She noticed two red-haired kids looking in the window at her, a girl and boy who looked to be about 8 and 9 years old. Snape followed her gaze and with a smirk rose to his feet. "Come along, let's go see about your pet.." He gathered up her packages and ushered her out the door.

In Magical Menagerie Sara looked over the many stuffed cages until she found a cage stuffed under a table containing three little kittens. Two of them were orange, with bright green eyes. They were both curled up asleep, while the third kitten, a dark gray tabby, stood upon his hind legs and pawed through the bars of the cage. A short time later, she was carrying a small cardboard box that let out the occasional mew.

They picked up Hogwart's, A History and Standard Book of Spells, Grade One, in Flourish and Blotts, along with the rest of the books on Sara's list. As they left the book store, Snape asked "Wand's next..?" and Sara nodded excitedly. This was the part she'd been looking forward to the most.

Snape was guiding Sara along through the crowd with a warm hand on her shoulder, toward Ollivanders. Outside the shop stood a red haired man holding the hand of a little red-haired girl that Sara recognized to be the same girl who'd been looking in the window at the ice cream parlor. The man offered a polite nod to Professor Snape, and the teacher replied with a less than enthusiastic "Good day Arthur" as they passed them. When Sara turned to look up at the professor, he wore a look of distaste, as if he'd taken a bite of a moldy piece of bread.

Inside, two tall red-haired boys stood beside an overweight older woman. A skinny white haired old man was bustling about pulling boxes off the shelf and setting them aside as if he were looking for a particular box, or boxes. As Professor Snape reached the counter, the woman cleared her throat in just the manner that Mrs. Barrett did if Sara was doing something she shouldn't. Sara looked around wondering who was in trouble, when she spotted one of the boys slipping what appeared to be an ordinary twig into one of the boxes Mr. Ollivander had set upon the counter.

Professor Snape smirked. "Molly." He said, with a nod to the woman who appeared to be the mother of the two red-heads. She nodded back, then reached over and slapped one of the boy's hands. "Really, Fred, what am I to do with you?" She asked as Mr. Ollivander handed a narrow white box to the other boy. "Try this.." He said before returning to the shelves.

A moment later the boy shook the wand, and sparks flew out of the end of it. Mr. Ollivander nodded. "I thought so…" He murmured to himself as he pulled another similar box off a different shelf and held this out to the other boy, Fred. He too took the wand from the box and held it up, waving it slightly. When sparks flew from this wand's tip too, he smiled. "That all, Mrs. Weasley?"

After the plump witch and her sons had departed, Professor Snape ushered Sara forward, and Mr. Ollivander looked her over with curiosity. The first wand he handed her did nothing when she waved it as the other boys had. He smiled. "Ah, a challenge!" He declared as he rummaged through a box behind his counter, pulling out a couple of narrow, dark blue wand boxes. He pulled the lid off of one and carefully lifted out its content. A wand made of Elder wood, eight and a half inches, filled with dragon heart string, its handle elegantly carved with dragon claws. Sara looked it over with desire. He held it out to her. "I think this….this has been waiting for you."

She lifted the wand and immediately her hand felt warm, and green sparks flew from the wand's tip, knocking the empty box off the counter.

Mr. Ollivander nodded satisfactorily. "That wand has quite a history.." He started, but Professor Snape cut in. "I'm sorry Mr. Ollivander, but we must be going or Miss Barrett won't have time to purchase the remainder of her school supplies before I must have her home.

Professor Snape led her back out into the street which was starting to empty of the shoppers it had been bustling with a short time before. After buying her cauldron and scales, they were on their way back through the Leaky Cauldron.


	3. Hogwarts Express

Author's Note: Ok, so I noticed after I posted chapter two that I had changed point of view to third person…yeah, I'll fix that when I get a chance. I am going to try to go back to first person…and I apologize if anyone was bothered by it.

Disclaimer: Most of the characters, locations, item descriptions, etc. In this story are the creation or legal possession of one J.K. Rowling, however, a few of them are mine, I hope she doesn't mind sharing….

Chapter 3: The Hogwarts Express

The next few days dragged so slowly I thought they'd never end. As September began, the weather took a turn for the worse. It was hot and humid as we drove the last mile or so to the station. My adoptive parents exchanged hushed conversation in the front seat until we pulled into King's Cross station.

Getting my trunk out of the boot was difficult. It had barely fit into it in the first place.. but with Mr. Barrett's assistance I finally got it loaded onto the trolley, along with the carrier containing a hissing fur-ball of a cat. Poor Sneaker didn't seem to like the car ride at all. I wondered how the kitten would handle the train journey to Hogwarts.

My parent's kissed me goodbye before I went through the barrier. I saw no reason for them to actually see me onto the train…I thought I could manage loading my trunk and stowing Sneaker in the overhead compartment on my own, and there was no reason to drag out the long and depressing goodbye. Mrs. Barrett was practically balling her eyes out as my father guided her back out of the train station.

I pushed the trolley toward the wall dividing platforms nine and ten, and with a quick glance toward the guard nearby to make sure he wasn't watching, I pushed through to platform Nine and Three Quarters.

It was amazing! The beautiful Hogwart's Express drew my eyes to it the second I was through the barrier. Wizard families milled about saying goodbye to their children, and helping them carry luggage onto the train. I spotted one girl who looked to be a few years older than me loading her trunk with the assistance of a red-haired boy who looked too much like the boys I'd seen at Ollivander's not to be related. I looked around hopefully for a sign of them. "You need to lift your end, Penelope.." I heard him say as the trunk thudded up the steps.

I couldn't find the red-headed family anywhere, and finally gave up looking when I heard the whistle signaling the train getting ready to leave. I pushed the trolley up to the same door I'd seen the red-haired boy and the girl named Penelope loading the trunk on, and then realized I'd need help. I suddenly wished I hadn't left the Barrett's on the other side of the barrier.

Suddenly I heard "Gerroff Mum, the train's going to leave without us.." behind me, followed by the scuffle of feet coming toward the train. When I turned toward the voice, I was excited to see that it was one of the red-haired boys I'd seen in Diagon Alley. He nodded, and was about to walk by to board the train when he seemed to do a double-take and turned to look at my trolley.

He smiled, straightened up, and said "Would you be needin' help, miss?" and just as I was about to reply, his brother came rushing over wiping what looked like lipstick off of his cheek. "Honestly, that woman…." I heard him mutter before he nudged his brother. "What's up Fred?"

The first boy looked at his twin, and then back to me. "I was offering to help this young lady carry her trunk aboard…here take an end" he told his brother, and I hastily scooped Sneaker's carrier off the top of the trunk as they hoisted it onto the train. A few moments later, the three of us were sitting in a compartment by ourselves, our trunks and Sneaker's carrier stowed away.

I sat across from the boys. They were both very freckly, I thought as the train lurched and puffed, starting the long journey to Hogwarts.

The twin whose name I had not yet heard spoke first. "I'm George Weasley, and this is my brother, Fred.." He grinned mischievously, "we're first years."

I smiled. "My name's Sara Barrett, and I'm a first year too. I saw you in Diagon Alley, buying your wands…you seem to have a lot of siblings.."

George nodded. "Yup, there's Bill, Charlie and Percy, they're our older brothers, and then there's Ron and Ginny, they're younger, and Ginny's our sister."

Fred turned a little red in the face and looked out the window while George rambled off the names of their many siblings.

"Oh" I smiled "I think I saw your older brother, with a girl he called Penelope?" I asked, amazed at how many siblings they had…it was enough to fill the orphanage I'd lived in after my parents died.

"Yeah, that's Percy" replied George. He's a bit of a git, you know, a know it all.."

The door of our compartment slid open, and Percy came strutting in ahead of the food trolley. "Anything from the trolley dears?" A plump old woman asked as she stopped with a cart laden with all kinds of candies and treats.

I stood up and went to look, while Percy told his brothers "When we arrive, you'll have to be sorted into different houses. There's Huffl-" but before he could continue, Fred and George had both rolled their eyes and sighed. "Yes, Perc, we know!" to which the older brother stood, shook his head, and then said "Well, if you know, I won't bother you anymore" He snapped, and stormed out past me and the food trolley. I bought a few of the chocolate frogs..they looked really neat, and a few licorice wands, and returned to my seat.

Fred and George glanced at my purchases, and then both looked away. I knew the look…it was the sort of look you see on a kid staring in a shop window at a toy they'll never be able to have because their parents can't afford it.. the same look you saw on the faces of orphans when someone came to adopt..

I tossed a licorice wand at each of them, and then handed them each a chocolate frog. "Thanks for helping me load my trunk.." I added, to make it sound like it was payment. Since I'd come to live with the Barretts, I'd been well fed, and warmly dressed, but I remembered from my years at the orphanage what it was like to go with only the essentials..

We spent the next hour or so talking about the cards that came with our chocolate frogs, and when Percy returned, it was to tell us we should put on our robes since we were nearly to Hogwarts. He left in a huff again, and I noticed that he had a piece of paper stuck to his robes that said "Hex Me." I smirked, looking to his brothers to find the culprit, but both of them were so doubled over with laughter I concluded it must have been both of them.

When the train finally shuddered to a halt, we were instructed to leave our trunks, and follow this huge guy with a scruffy beard. "Firs' Years" He called, "Follow me" and he led the way to several small boats that floated in a black lake between us and the castle. A lot of the older students I noticed were all piling into carriages that seemed to be self-drawn. I followed Fred and George down to one of the boats. Fred held out his hand to help me in, and I blushed slightly. "Thank you.." I said, taking a seat at the front of the boat, and he and his brother fought over who would be sitting in the middle.


	4. The Sorting Ceremony

A/N: I'm still looking for assistance, if anyone's interested in helping me write this story.. I'm not the greatest at finishing things.

Disclaimer: As previously stated, most of the characters, locations, etc. in this story are the possession of J.K. Rowling..

The Sorting

As the huge scruffy guy herded us into the entrance hall, I looked nervously around. What now I wondered? I didn't have long to wait. A tall, silver-haired witch came through the huge doors of what appeared to be a great hall, and cleared her throat. She looked very familiar, but before I could get a good look at her, a couple of taller kids brushed in front of me to get a better look at her, and I was left to listen to her voice, trying to place how I knew it.

"Welcome, first years, to Hogwart's School. Now, in just a moment I will be leading you into the Great Hall for the sorting ceremony." She turned and looked into the hall, and then back to the crowd of nervous kids. "Alright, please follow me." She said, and opening the great door she led the way into a massive hall.

This one room was bigger than the entire orphanage I'd lived in. Candles floated the length of the hall, and the ceiling sparkled with what looked like the nighttime sky. Several long tables were set up at which older students were already seated. At the head of the hall was a long table seating several teachers. Right away I spotted Professor Snape. I wanted to wave to him, but thought better of it as we were led to a clear spot where a stool sat with a hat upon it.

It was a rag of a hat, the point folded over, a dusty brim was frayed on the edges. As silence fell in the hall, the woman who'd come to get us from the entrance hall spoke again. "Now, when I call your name, you will come forward, and place the hat on your head. It will sort you into your house, and then you're to take a seat at the appropriate table. Let the sorting begin." She said, but before she began reading from a roll of parchment she held, the hat spoke.

I did a double-take, looking from her to the hat, and then around the room to make sure it was the hat, and sure enough it had started to speak in rhyme.

Welcome Witches and Wizards alike

To Hogwarts magnificent hall

I'm the Hogwarts sorting hat

And I must sort you all

Into houses once established

By our famous founders four

Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff

Slytherin and Gryffindor

But firstly I should tell you

A conclusion I have reached

Our founders valued different things

In the pupils they would teach

Salazar slytherin sought those

Whose blood was purest

And then Rowena Ravenclaw sought

Those whose intelligence was surest

Godric Gryffindor valued students

Who were bravest and most loyal

And Helga Hufflepuff took those

Who were unafraid of toil

The time has come, my friends

To place you where you're apt

So put me on your little head

For I'm the sorting cap!

Once it had finished its rhyme, the hat went silent again, and the woman started calling names. "Anna Adams" was sent to Hufflepuff first, and then I heard my name called. I took a step forward as Anna took the hat off of her head and placed it back on the stool. I looked up at the head table where all the teachers were sitting and nervously lifted the tattered hat onto my head.

The second it touched, I heard a buzzing sort of sound, as if someone had turned on a current of electricity in my ear. "Hmmmm" the hat seemed to be thinking for a second, and then it shouted "Slytherin" to the crowd, and a table full of students erupted into applause. I set the hat down and started walking toward them. The rest of the students were sorted and I waited nervously, wanting to know if Fred or George would be sorted into the same house as me.

Melinda Bobbin, Andrew Branstone, and Roger Davies went to Ravenclaw. Then Cedric Diggory went to Hufflepuff, and Thomas Goldstein went to Ravenclaw. By this time, the Ravenclaw table was roaring with applause at all the new students they had.

When Angelina Johnson was called up to be sorted, she was sent to Gryffindor and the thunder of applause that came from that table was deafening. Lee Jordan was also sent to Gryffindor, and then Graham Montague went to Slytherin, followed by Edward Nott, and Adrian Pucy. Alicia Spinnet went to Gryffindor, along with Kenneth Towler.

At last there were just the two Weasley brothers left to be sorted. I held my breath, hoping that they'd be sorted into Slytherin with me, but Fred was sorted first and he went to Gryffindor, and then, just as I felt I couldn't hold my breath any longer, George too was sent to Gryffindor. I exhaled, and put my head on my arms in disappointment. I had so hoped we'd be sorted together.

The Headmaster of the school rose, and addressed the entire school. "Greetings, and welcome to Hogwarts! There is a time for speeches, and..as I'm sure you're all quite hungry, it will wait until after we eat. Let the Feast Begin!"

As he finished speaking, gasps and hoots could be heard through the hall as all of the golden plates along the tables were filled with foods of every sort. I looked around at the dishes before me and scooped some mashed potatoes onto my plate, along with a small helping of meatloaf. I wasn't terribly hungry and picked at them while glancing across at the Gryffindor table. Why couldn't they have been sorted into Slytherin?

Graham Montague reached across my plate to grab a plate laden with browned rolls, and smiled at down at me as he sat down again. I noticed he was wearing braces, and had he not, he probably would've had a pleasant smile, but it came out as more of a sneer really.

One of the older students called our attention and identified himself as Miles Bletchley, Prefect.

After everyone had finished eating and the voices in the hall had risen again, the headmaster rose once more. He bent over to listen to something that the silver-haired witch who'd come to sort us was saying into his ear. He followed her gaze toward me, and I wondered what it was they were talking about. He shook his head, and the woman looked irritated. I wondered what I had done…

I didn't have a chance to dwell on it though because the Headmaster addressed the hall again. "Now, the time has come for a few start-of-term notices. Our caretaker Mr. Filch would like me to kindly ask that no magic be performed in the corridors between classes. The Dark Forest located on the grounds is off limits to ALL students. Now, off to bed with you."

With that, the prefect at our table stood up "First years, follow me" He said, and led us toward the door of the great hall, and once the way was cleared he led us down a dark corridor and a flight of stairs into what appeared to be the dungeons. I couldn't believe I was in a castle with a dungeon!

We reached a long dark corridor and Fletchley stopped. "You'll do well to remember this bare patch of wall…" He said, and with that he disappeared through it. The first years around me gasped, and then broke out in chatter, following him through into a common room full of carved armchairs and darkly polished tables. "Girls on the left, boys on the right." He said as we all came through the wall, pointing to either side of us. I looked toward the left and saw a dark stairwell that led downward. I realized suddenly that I was the only first year girl when the rest of the crowd turned toward the right and headed for the boys dormitories.

I went to the left, and down the stairs. I didn't expect to have a dormitory to myself, but what I found was exciting. When I reached the landing one level below the common room I was in a long hallway that had 7 doors leading off of it. I began walking along the hall and found the first room contained one bed, a trunk, and Sneaker's carrier. I thought about walking in, but decided I'd continue on and see what the other doors had. The second door had four beds, each occupied by an older girl. "Your room's the first one, Sara." Said a girl I'd heard introduce herself to Edward Nott at the dinner table as Jocelyn Ogden. I nodded, and stepped back out. When I continued down the hall I saw that each of the other rooms had four or five beds in them. I was the only one who got a room all to myself. I grinned and made my way back to my room. As I walked into the room, I noticed a fireplace in which a fire crackled and snapped. It was a cozy room, even if the walls had a weird greenish glow to them.

The bed was a tall four poster bed, with dark green curtains hanging all around it. Sneaker's carrier was sitting on the bed, and I opened the door to let him out. He mewed, and sniffed the air, then stepped out tenderly, looking all around. Setting the carrier beside my trunk, I scooped him up into my arms and cuddled him before setting him down and changing into my pajamas.

I pulled back the blankets and climbed into the bed, and a few minutes later I was fast asleep, Sneakers curled up beside me and thoughts of tomorrow, and classes, in my head.


	5. Class Assignments

A/N No one's interested in helping to write this? Got to be someone out there….Also, Reviews! I need to know what people think, suggestions, complaints, etc.

Disclaimer: Still… most of these chars belong to J.K. Rowling, a select few are my own creation. Locations and events may also belong to the wonderful J.K. Rowling and I claim no ownership of them, merely artistic license in manipulating them to fit my story.

Chapter 5, Start of Term

.

I awoke the next morning to Jocelyn knocking on the door. "Come on, Sara, if you don't get up you'll miss breakfast!" She called in. I heard her and a few other girls walking out of the dormitory and into the common room.

Stretching and yawning, I slid out of bed, putting my feet onto the cold hard floor of the dungeon. The fire still crackled warmly, though I hadn't gotten up to put any wood on it during the night. I wondered why the floor was so cold, but turned my attention to feeding Sneaker. I refilled a bowl of water, and dropped a scoop of dry food into his bowl before changing into my uniform and robes.

I wondered what classes I'd be taking, and when I'd find out. I slipped my feet into my uniform shoes, looking into my trunk at the new shoes I'd gotten from my adoptive parents. Mr. And Mrs. Barrett had taken me shopping for general school supplies, new clothes, shoes, a winter coat and all the things they would've bought me if I was going to a muggle school. I didn't see the harm in them doing it, so I didn't stop them, but I felt guilty for not wearing the clothes they spent so much money on to get me.

A few minutes later I was headed up the stairs and into the common room. There were a few older students milling about looking at slips of paper bearing what looked like class schedules. For a moment I wondered if I hadn't been given one, but then decided I must have to go to the head of house to get mine. I wondered who that was as I made my way back up to the great hall for breakfast.

I joined my fellow Slytherins at the breakfast table, though I looked around for Fred and George. I didn't see anyone with that vibrant red hair in the hall. I filled my plate with eggs, bacon, and some toast and started to eat.

While I was eating, Professor Snape walked up the aisle between Slytherin table and Gryffindor's. He stopped beside me and smiled. "Well hello, Sara." He greeted me, and I turned around to face him better.

"Good morning, Professor Snape." I replied, setting down my fork.

"I am the Slytherin Head of House, Sara, so I have your course schedule. If you have any questions, my office is opposite your common room in the dungeon." He looked serious for a moment as he glanced around the hall, but then another smile broke upon his face. "Did you enjoy the journey here?" He asked as he held out the parchment containing my class schedule.

I nodded eagerly. "It was fascinating! I've never ridden on a train before, and the lake was really dark, and I think I saw something swimming in it." I kind of rambled. It was fun to talk to someone I kind of knew.

His smile widened a little. "I look forward to seeing you in Potions on Friday." He added, before he moved along the table to hand out more class schedules.

I looked down at my own schedule, eager to see where I was going to be starting my lessons.

* * *

Schedule for: Sara Barrett

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

9:00 am

Transfiguration

Classroom 5

Herbology

(W/ Ravenclaw) Greenhouse 3

Transfiguration

Herbology (W/Ravenclaw)

Potions

(W/Gryffindor)

10:30 am

Charms Classroom 3

Defense Against the Dark Arts Classroom 14

Charms

Charms

Potions

(W/ Gryffindor)

12:00 pm

Lunch

Lunch

Lunch

Lunch

Lunch

1:00 pm

Astronomy North Tower

History of magic- Classroom 10

Herbology

(W/ Ravenclaw)

History of Magic

Free

3:00 pm

Free Period

Flying

Front Lawn

Defense Against

The Dark Arts

Flying

Free Period

Notice:

Lessons will be taught by professors as follows:

Transfiguration: Professor McGonagall

Charms: Professor Flitwick

Astronomy: Professor Sinistra

Herbology: Professors Sprout

Defense Against the Dark Arts:

History of Magic: Professor Binns

Flying: Professor Hooch

Potions: Professor Snape

You will also be studying Astronomy from the top of the north tower at 12:00am on Thursday nights.

I was eager to begin my classes. I finished eating in a hurry so I could return to the dormitory and retrieve my book bag. Just as I finished the last bite of egg my plate cleared itself, returning to a sparkling gold as I rose from the table. I met up with Fred on his way into the hall just as I walked out.

He stopped, and leaned against the door. "So, Sara, what class have you got first today?" He quirked one of his eyebrows as George stumbled past, his head down, as if he were still half asleep.

"Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall." I replied, watching George walk into the great hall to get his breakfast. George reached the table and looked around for his brother. Just as he looked toward the door, Fred said "Right, well, I'll talk to you later, maybe around lunch?"

I nodded and continued toward my dormitory. When I arrived, I pulled my books out of my trunk and stuffed them into my bag, along with quill and parchment. I checked my bedside table for my wand, realizing I'd gone off to breakfast without it. I stuffed it into my uniform, and started back out into the corridor as one of the older girls was walking past. I looked back into my room as Sneaker mewed, just in time to bump into the girl walking by.

My bag fell to the floor with a thud, and the books she'd been carrying flew across the hall, hitting the opposite wall with a thud. She had purple hair that was shoulder length, and sort of spiky. "Wotcher kid" She said as she raised her wand "Accio books" She said as she waved her wand and the books floated back into her hands. "Look where you're goin, eh?" She said and then stomped down the length of the corridor to the sixth year dormitory.

I watched her walk away feeling irritated. She wasn't even in my house, I'd seen her sitting at the Hufflepuff table the night before.

At last I was on my way up to the first floor where my transfiguration classes were to take place.

A/N: Up Next: A Surprise Reunion, Sara meets up with the nanny she barely remembers when walking into her Transfiguration classroom.


	6. A Surprise Reunion

A/N: No reviews? What do people think? What sort of relationship should Severus and Sara have? Which of the twins should she become involved with?

Disclaimer: Characters, locations, etc are the property of J.K. Rowling, I'm just sharing them.

Chapter 6: A Surprise Reunion

There was a small queue of students in the hall outside classroom 5, waiting for the professor to open the door. They all appeared to be Slytherin first years, so there were only a handful of them.

Just as I reached the group, I heard the clicking footsteps of a professor's shoes behind me in the corridor and turned around to see which one it was. It was the older woman who had been sitting at the table beside the headmaster, the one who had seemed to be talking about me. I stepped back out of the way so she could get to the door.

She paused a moment as she glanced over the class, and then her eyes lingered on me. I could see her looking over my face as if she was looking for something, but one of the students beside the door laughed and started shoving the boy beside him, which took the professor's eyes from me and clearing her throat she made her way to the door, which she pulled open and stood beside to allow the students to walk in before her.

Trying to recall where I knew her from, I walked past her into the classroom. The boys from Slytherin house were all clumped together in the center of the room. I moved to go toward the back of the class, feeling awkward being the only girl but the professor called me forward. "There'll be no need to sit in the back of the room, everyone toward the front, since there's such a small group of you."

I grimaced, and turned around. I was nervous, knowing that so many of these students had grown up in wizarding households, had known from infancy that they'd come to school here at Hogwarts, whereas I didn't even know I was a witch until this summer. What would happen if she called on me? I was sure I wouldn't be able to answer whatever question she would ask first...would my classmates laugh?

"Good Morning Class." The professor started, demanding the attention of the handful of students in her classroom. "I am Professor McGonagall, and I will be teaching you Transfigurations. In these lessons, you will learn how to change an item from one thing into another, how to switch part of an object to another object, how to banish and conjure items, how to animate inanimate objects and more.

"_Transfiguration__ is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts. Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned.__"_ (J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and Sorcerer's Stone) Now, please take out your books and read the introduction."

I pulled my book out of my bag and set it on the desk in front of me. The cover read "A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration," and below it, "By Emeric Switch" all embossed into the hard leather. Opening the book, I began to read the assigned text.

"_Transfiguration is the art of changing the basic properties of an object or animal by using switching spells, vanishing spells, and conjuring spells. The key to successful transfiguration is concentration, and deliberation. Without sufficient focus, one might merely light a match, instead of turning it into a needle. _

_Imperfect transfiguration attempts can be deadly. One might attempt to turn a tea-cup into a mouse, only to find that the mouse has no mouth, a transformation that could eventually kill the mouse. Similarly, a witch or wizard transforming without complete and determined focus could forget a limb, or even more disastrous, an organ._

_Relatedly, one cannot perform a complete transformation without the use of wand and incantation. Wand movements must be perfect, must flow as naturally as batting an eye. Incantations must be spoken clearly and deliberately." _

I looked up as the professor passed between my desk and the one beside me. She smiled briefly, and then continued back toward her desk, where she addressed the class again. "Now, our first task then will be to turn a match into a needle. Edward, please come up to my desk and take this box of matches, pass out one to each of your classmates and take one for yourself."

Edward did as he was asked and a few minutes later was seated back at his desk with a match in front of him.

"Now, I want you each to practice this movement with your wands." Professor McGonagall instructed as she moved her wrist in a semi-circle. "And using the incantation in the book, attempt to change your match into a needle." She added, taking a seat at her desk to watch the class in their attempts to do as she instructed.

Everyone in the class had their heads bent over their matches, their wands pointed at the little wooden sticks, and were muttering incantations. I raised my eyebrow, thinking they looked ridiculous, but I gave it a try. Pointing my wand at the match, I moved in an arc as similar to Professor McGonagall's as I could get it, and said the incantation.

At first, I could see no change, and then as I looked closely I saw that the head of the match had a hole through it that hadn't been there before. I had been partially successful. Reassured, I tried again, repeating the processes, and trying to say the spell as clearly as I could. Again, I noticed a slight alteration, the opposite end of the match was now pointed, but it remained the color of wood.

"Your homework is to keep practicing the wand movement, and the incantation. I expect you each to be able to transform your matches by next lesson." Professor McGonagall finished speaking just as the bell rang to dismiss class. I packed my book back into my bag, stowed my wand into my robe, and rose from my desk to go to my next class. It was 10:15, and I wasn't sure yet how to find the charms classroom.

I was the last to rise from my seat, and the rest of the class had nearly filed out the door when I heard a soft cough behind me. I turned to look at the professor, who was looking right at me. My heart began to race as I saw, in that moment, a face I had seen many years before.

Once again I was dancing on my father's toes in a room crowded room, and then being shaken awake by my governess, and taken by portkey to a muggle village, without explanation. "Minnie!" I gasped.

She nodded, pulling her glasses from her face she bent her head, and when she looked up again there were tears in her eyes. "I worried, when you were adopted from the orphanage that you'd forget about being a witch, about me…" Her voice faltered, and then she added, "I'm so happy to see you again Sara."

Moments passed, and my brain was processing everything. All the questions, the anger, the fear and confusion, the hurt at being abandoned at an orphanage without an explanation…I couldn't speak as they welled up inside of me. I wanted to ask a million questions, to berate her with a torrent of insults to satisfy the hurt of years of unknowing, of wondering what had become of my parents, and why my best friend, the person I was closest to besides my mother and father could just drop me at an orphanage without a backward glance.

In the seconds that had passed since she spoke, my face had grown warm, and I watched as her facial expression changed from one of nervous happiness to concern. A few students came in from the corridor for their lesson, breaking the silence between us. I left.

I wanted to put as much distance between myself and Minnie as I could. I couldn't see where I was going through the well of tears in my eyes. Portraits flew by as I ran down one corridor and up the next, until I found an empty room at the end of a corridor on what I thought was the fourth floor. I didn't even remember climbing stairs.

The bell rang, announcing the start of the next class. I didn't care. I wanted to go home, back to Mr. and Mrs. Barrett's house in our quiet little muggle village. I was sick of this adventure, and ready for it to end. I longed to hear James call Maggie down for her morning cup of coffee, for her to tell him "Hush Jimmie or you'll wake her..." as she moved down the stairs quietly. Many of my favorite mornings had started just this way.

I sat against the wall, pulling my knees up to my chest. I was full of so many emotions, I didn't know what to think, what to feel. I felt the hot tickling drop of tears on my cheeks, and wiped at them with the sleeve of my robe. Again, I heard the sound of a cough, somewhere in the room, and I looked around, alarmed. I had thought the room was empty when I entered it. Either I was wrong, or he had appeared silently, and out of thin air.


	7. A Lesson in Recent History

Disclaimer: Many of the characters in this story are the creation and property of J.K. Rowling and my thanks go out to her for the inspiration she has given many young writers, including myself. I claim no ownership over her characters, and am merely using a few of them to further my own creative writing.

Chapter 7: A Lesson in Recent History

Professor Snape stood with his hands behind his back, dark greasy hair hanging down around his face. He was silhouetted against the window through which light from the grounds filtered brightly.

"Sara? Are you alright?" He asked, walking toward me. He knelt down on the floor, and gently brushed a strand of loose hair back behind my ear. "What's happened?" He asked softly, his voice the same concerned tone I'd heard my adoptive father use many times over the years.

A heavy sob caught my voice in my throat for a second. "I had forgotten she was a teacher, I never though I'd see her again.."

"Who?" He asked; his voice curious now.

"Professor McGonagall." I stated simply, wiping fresh tears from my eyes. "She used to be my governess." I added, looking up at Severus.

"Oh." He replied, a barely perceptible nod making the hair around his face shiver. "Come, up you get and we'll go get you something to help calm you." He held out a hand, "and perhaps stop in at your Charms lesson to notify professor Flitwick of your whereabouts?"

I nodded, feeling somewhat ashamed of skiving off one of my first lessons. I reached a hand up to his as he stood up, and he lifted me to my feet. "Thank you." I mumbled, picking up my bag.

He wrapped an arm around me and led me from the empty classroom. We walked along that corridor in silence, and before long we'd reached the Charms corridor. He found the right classroom, and opening the door motioned to Professor Flitwick, who paused mid-sentence.

I stood in the hall while there was a brief exchange of words between the two professors, and then the door closed, and Professor Snape beckoned me onward. A few minutes later we were at the teacher's lounge. Snape reached for the doorknob only to have it move away as if repelled by him. I looked up, to find the crooked-nosed Headmaster looking down at me, sharp blue eyes piercing through me, and then wandering to Professor Snape.

"Ah, Headmaster, I wonder if I might have a word with you." Severus asked the headmaster. When Dumbledore nodded, Snape waved me into the room and shut the door behind me. I could hear the soft mumble of their voices on the other side of the door but could not make out what they were saying to each other.

After a moment, the door opened, and the Headmaster was gone. Snape walked into the room and guided me toward a couch beside the fire. "Come Sara, and sit. I'll fix you up a drink and we can talk about what's upset you."

He left me by the couch and walked away. I didn't watch what he did, but instead looked into the fire, trying to remember details about my past. He returned, with two glasses, and sat down beside me.

"Now, you say Professor McGonagall was your governess. What is so upsetting about that?" He asked as he held the glass out to me.

I took it, but didn't drink it. "When my parents died, she was taking care of me. We had all gone to a party, but my parents had sent me home with Minnie early. That was the day before the school term was to begin...and Minnie was teaching then too, because I remember her saying she was supposed to be at the school the next morning…that if she didn't show up they'd be looking for her."

I paused, trying now to recall who "they" were, but I don't think that Minnie had ever told me. "She left me at the orphanage without telling me anything more than that my parents were dead." I sniffed, "I was five. I didn't understand….I still don't understand because I've been stuck with muggles since, and SHE could've come back and explained it to me, could've told me what happened! I spent three years in that orphanage watching children get adopted before the Barretts came and she never came back!

I was nearly yelling, and tears were streaming down my face. "She left me there, to live with strangers, people who didn't understand what I was, she made me promise not to say anything about magic, about where I was from."

Severus was nodding understandingly, occasionally taking a sip from his glass.

"I just want to know what happened to my parents, and why I had to go live with muggles for six years." At last I stopped talking, this last sentence coming out in more of a whine than a yell. Another bout of sobs wracked through me, and Severus pulled me toward him, wrapping his arms around me he just held me, letting me cry for a few minutes.

When he spoke, he pulled back from me softly so he could look me in the eyes. His warm hands gently wiped away the tears from my face.

"You look so much like your mother." He said, "She kept her hair the same way you do." He smiled. "She and I played together sometimes when we were children. We were related, you see. She was my cousin."

I couldn't believe it. We were related. I had a relative sitting right here beside me. I listened silently, wanting him to go on, to answer questions that had long gone unanswered.

He removed his arm from around my shoulder, and took another sip from his glass.

My mother's name was Eileen Prince, and her sister was Jailynn. My aunt Jailynn was your grandmother, and Emily and I used to play together whenever our mother's visited with each other."

"Your parents married and moved into a little house on Spinner's End, about three doors down from where I lived with my parents when I was younger. I think your mother remembered playing there. She always seemed so happy when she came to visit, and I assume she liked it there. I know little of your father. Armand never really liked me much so your father and I rarely talked." He paused long enough to take another sip and empty his glass.

"The night your parents died, there was an attack on the Whippet home. Many of their guests fled, though a few remained behind to help defend them. Unfortunately most of those who stayed were killed in the battle. The entire Whippet family was killed along with the Crockfords, except you, of course. I know that for a while the Dark Lord's supporters sought you out as well. No one knew where you'd gone, or how you'd escaped the attack that night, but within the next few years the Dark Lord had bigger and more pressing problems to attend to, and you were forgotten by his minions."

"Crockford was my surname." I had forgotten through the years, since last names hardly mattered at the orphanage, and I took the name Barrett when I was adopted by Margaret and James three years ago.

Severus nodded. "Yes, Sara Crockford. Your name was plastered in the daily newspapers for a few weeks after the attack along side details of the murders. No Death Eaters were linked to the event…"

The bell rang to signal the end of the second lesson of the day, and soon voices were heard passing the door of the teacher's lounge. I thought about skipping lunch as well, I had so many questions, so many things I wanted to know.

Severus patted my knee softly. "You should go to lunch. There will be plenty of time for you to ask questions during the term, and I would recommend that you talk to Professor McGonagall soon; she perhaps can answer more questions than anyone else can.

A/N: All I can say is PLEASE REVIEW! I'm desperate for feedback.. what do you think of this chapter, of the previous chapter?


	8. A Trip to the Lake

Disclaimer: Most of the characters in this chapter are the creation and property of J.K. Rowling. Kudos go to that wonderful woman for inspiring me, and many others, to write.

Chapter 8: A Trip to the Lake

The corridor was crowded with students ranging from first year all the way through to seventh year. I felt tiny as I made my way along the corridor to the stairs. It amazed me that no matter where students came from, or where they were going, all the corridors of Hogwarts seemed to be crowded between classes. The crowd was going to the Great Hall for lunch now, and I was herded along with it down a few flights of stairs and a couple of corridors. The route was lost to me while I thought about the information I'd just been given.

Professor Snape was my cousin. That was an interesting turn of events. He and my mother had played together as children. Perhaps that was why Severus had been so excited by my happiness the day he took me to Diagon Alley. Was he seeing my mother in my smile?

Before I had time to consider more of the information, I felt a hand on my elbow and the presence of someone at my side. I moved to pull away but when I turned to look, the hand was attached, distantly, to a red haired boy.

I had to look up at him, as he stood a foot or so taller than I did. "Hello Fred." We walked into the dining hall silently, since we couldn't hear each other over the din of the other students talking anyway, but once the crowd around us thinned, he laughed.

He scratched the back of his head, and looked kind of sheepish. "I'm not Fred, I'm George."

I blinked, surprised. "No, you're Fred."

He shook his head again, and looked around for his brother, but when he didn't find him he looked back. "No, I'm George."

I laughed, and nudged him with my elbow as we reached the tables. "Nah, you're Fred, know how I can tell?"

He looked wide-eyed at me, and shook his head. "How?" He asked, settling into his seat at the Gryffindor table. He looked baffled, as if no one had ever been able to tell the two apart before.

I stood there awkwardly, wondering if I was allowed to sit at the table with him before I noted that a few seats away, the same Hufflepuff girl I'd seen in the Slytherin dormitory was sitting with a few Gryffindor guys. I sat down beside Fred, and he looked around too.

"Your wand." I said, looking at his robe where the end of his wand stuck out. "Yours is birch, George's wand is made of yew." I shrugged, and reached for a sandwich that was stacked beside many others of similar fillings; it looked to be ham and cheese.

He gaped. "You know what my wand is made of?"

I nodded. "I had environmental science last year, after we studied cloud types and the effects mountain ranges had on the weather, we learned about trees and how to identify them.

Just as he was about to comment, George turned up behind us. He grinned. "Hey George." He said, but Fred shook his head. "It's a no-go mate, she can tell us apart."

George looked at me, one eyebrow quirked up. Fred didn't do that.. I'd have to remember that too, in case they tried switching wands, which I could almost imagine them doing. I shrugged, my mouth full of sandwich.

The second twin took a seat at the table on my other side, and began piling his plate with sandwiches and pickles. "So, what'd you think of your first classes?"

I shrugged. "Not much..." I replied, not wanting to share about my emotional discussion with Severus. "What classes did you have first?"

They replied in unison, "Defense and Herbology." And Fred continued "And Alloycius Vagan is amazing. I can't wait to learn how to do the Curse of the Bogies.. That'll be hilarious to do to Lee."

The black boy named Lee Jordan showed up just after Fred finished talking and sat down at the table looking glum. He dropped his bag on the bench beside him and started grabbing sandwiches silently, but once they touched his plate they stayed there.

George looked over at him. "Hey, Lee, how'd you think you'd feel with bat bogies flying around your face?"

"McGonagall caught me encouraging Peeves to throw water balloons at the second-years. She told me I've got detention on Friday." He grumbled, "she's going to make me scrub the toilets in the boy's loo on the second floor…you know the one that has the detailed drawings of Anamarie Smith doing the belly dance?"

George groaned. "Not that one! You're going to get creamed Lee, better run for it now before the Seventh-year Slytherins find out...I saw one of them use a full body bind on that Branstone kid from Ravenclaw just for walking into that bathroom."

Lee only sank lower on the bench, and looked around for Slytherin robes.

I looked at Fred for an explanation.

He grinned, a sheepish expression. I tilted my head to the side and waited for the story.

"Well..I don't know who drew it, but whoever did was quite the artist. You see, she's really hh-" Fred blushed and looked away.

George laughed, "Really, really hot." He finished for his twin. "And she's barely dressed."

I snickered, and shook my head. "Boys." I commented before finishing one of the sandwiches I'd put on my plate. I was so glad Fred had found me in the corridor because he and his brother had lightened my mood considerably.

"So you were all raised in wizard families huh?" I asked, looking at all three of them. I wondered what was similar and what was different between being raised a witch or wizard, and being raised a muggle.

Lee nodded. "Hey, look, I've got to scram." He said, stuffing a sandwich into his mouth and departing as quickly as he could. When I looked around I noticed some rather tall guys I'd seen in the common room the night before. Slytherin Seventh Years, no doubt.

It was George who spoke first in reply to my question. "Yeah, you weren't?" He looked surprised and curious. His twin looked up from his plateful. They both wanted to know.

I shrugged. "I lived in a muggle orphanage until I was 8, then I was adopted by Margaret and James Barrett; they're muggles. I've lived with them since. I had nearly forgotten I was a witch until the Headmaster showed up this summer. Mum and Dad were…pretty shocked when he told them, but they let me come here anyway...they're good people.

Fred and George both looked curious, like they had a million questions they wanted to ask, but before they had the chance the bell to signal the end of lunch period rang through the castle.

We all rose from the Gryffindor table and started to make our way out of the Great Hall. Fred waited for his brother to move ahead, and then he tapped my shoulder. "Hey, I was wondering if you had a free period after next lesson? I know there are only a couple classes in the afternoon session.."

I nodded. "yeah, I have Astronomy and then a free period." I replied. George had just squeezed through the huge hall door. Fred and I were almost the last students in the hall.

"Well, if you haven't got anything you have to do, I was going to go down to the lake this afternoon. My brother Bill says there are some merfolk in the lake and I wanted to see if he was telling the truth."

I tilted my head to the side. "merfolk? Uh, sure, that sounds like it'd be fun." I nodded and shifted my bag on my shoulder. "I'll see you after Astronomy then." My heart skipped a few beats as Fred nodded and we walked a little faster, not wanting to be late for our lessons.

I looked up at the ceiling and was once again amazed. Right now the sky was blue and spotted with dark cloud, as if rain was on its way. The high ceiling in the Great Hall looked the same. I wondered whose magical talent had been behind its creation.

George was waiting in the entrance hall, wondering how we'd gotten separated. "There you are Fred, I was worried I'd lost you." He grinned, but I saw for a moment a flicker of something else in his expression.

Fred and George left me on the third floor, heading down a corridor that led away from the stairs I needed to take to get to the top of the tallest tower of Hogwarts. Before long the crowd thinned and I was walking once again with the small group of first year Slytherin boys. Amongst them, Nott and Montague walked, nudging each other and whispering between themselves, as if sharing some secret they didn't want overheard.

The entrance to the classroom stood open and the handful of students filed past Aurora Sinistra. I shuffled into the room and found a seat near the front, but no sooner hand I sat down than Professor Sinistra called upon me to hand out a set of charts. I took the stack she handed me and started walking around the room handing them out. Adrian Pucy whistled at me as I turned away from him to return the extra charts to the instructor's desk. I glared at him over my shoulder before taking my seat.

We listened for the next hour as Professor Sinistra rambled on about the placement of stars in the sky, the locations of planets and moons. When the bell rang again dismissing students from classes, I was eager to get down to the east wing and meet up with Fred.


	9. Talk Between Enemies

Disclaimer: Many of the characters in this story are the creation and property of J.K. Rowling and while I am taking some liberties with them I do it neither for fame nor fortune and profit not from the use of them.

Chapter 9: Talk Between Enemies

I was nervous and excited about meeting up with Fred. I wondered what the merfolk would be like, and how we'd find out if they even lived in the lake. I had just reached the entrance hall when I spotted a group of red-haired boys standing by the door. Percy, Fred and George were all standing together talking and Fred and George looked irritated, while their older brother looked a little smug, like he knew something they didn't.

I hesitated before joining the group, not wanting to intrude on a family moment, but Fred noticed my approach and waved to me. I smiled and walked toward them while they appeared to finish whatever their argument was, an argument that seemed to be led by George, and then Percy and George stalked off into the great hall, while Fred came over to meet me.

I wrung my hands as he reached my side. "Everything ok, Fred?" I asked.

He nodded and walked toward the door. "Yeah, just George being a git. Let's go down to the lake." He suggested and then started walking. I followed eagerly, full of curiosity about the lake and about the argument, though I kept my questions about the latter in check.

We made our way down the steep hill toward the lake. It was a short walk, but took a while because neither of us was very good at traversing the steep terrain. Finally we reached a cluster of rocks on the edge of the lake. They made a sort of platform so that one could sit on them and look out over the glossy surface of the water.

We sat down, side by side and I looked over at Fred. "So, um…how do we find out if there are Merfolk in the lake?" I picked up a pebble and tossed it so that it went skipping across the water. I watched it skip for a moment, then turned back to see Fred shrug.

"I dunno. My brother never said, just told me they lived in there." He looked a little uncomfortable. "You don't think we'll get in trouble for coming down here do you?"

Before I had a chance to reply the stone I'd skipped out over the water came skipping back. I watched it, confused, and then looked for the source, wondering how the stone could return unless someone or something in the lake had thrown it back. I couldn't see anyone or anything who could've done so I answered Fred. "Nah, the Headmaster didn't say anything about not being aloud on the grounds, just not in the forest, right?"

He nodded, but shrugged again at the same time. "Guess not."

I picked up another pebble, hoping to catch the culprit this time. I looked over my arm at Fred. "So, you have three brothers, any sisters?" I asked casually, just wanting to find out more about my new friend.

He laughed, sort of an embarrassed sound. "Actually I've got five brothers, and one sister. George and I have two older brothers; Charlie and Bill, and then there's Ron and Ginny after us. Ron's a git, but Ginny, that girl's got brains, you know?"

I nodded uncertainly, watching back out over the lake for the rock to come skipping back. "What's it like, growing up around other wizards?" I kept my eyes on the lake as I asked the question, before I'd finished, sure enough, there was a disturbance in the water in the middle of the lake and the tip of a tentacle came out of the water. I leaned forward, eyes wide. Reaching a hand out I tapped Fred's leg so he could see and saw out of the corner of my eye that he'd leaned forward too.

"Groovy!" He exclaimed. "Bill said there was a giant squid in there too, I'd forgot!"

The tentacle sank back below the surface once again and we watched as ripples floated outward from the spot where it submerged. The resulting rush of water on the rocks beneath us made a soothing sound.

"I dunno, my dad works for the ministry, he tells us stories about the muggles and things the ministry has to fix, like once this guy Mundungus put a spell on some old hats that when a muggle put the hat on it would try to eat their ears, and Dad had to go and sort it out. I always thought it was funny, but I guess it wouldn't be if you were the muggle who put the hat on…." His voice sort of trailed away.

I nodded. "I guess it's hard to know what it's like if you don't have something different to compare it to…I don't remember much about life before my parents died. Aside from a few brief memories of my mum and dad, all I really remember is living at the orphanage with Mrs. Evans, and then moving in with Mr. and Mrs. Barrett.

Fred just shrugged. "What'd they think when the headmaster came to tell them you were a witch?" He asked, his brown eyes looking up to meet mine.

I tossed a rock into the lake again. "Dad didn't want me to come. I don't think they were upset about me being a witch so much as that I'd be going away to school instead of going to public school there, you know? But mum talked him into letting me come. I think she knew how much I'd want to learn about my parents, and since….since no one in the muggle world has any answers, she knew I'd have to come here to find out."

I heard the bell ring signaling dinner up at the castle and looked over my shoulder. I saw the huge guy, the grounds keeper, walking up the steep path from his hut to the castle and figured it must be dinner-time. My stomach rumbled and I heard Fred's stomach echo the sound mine had made. I laughed softly. "Guess we should go eat?"

Fred nodded and stood up. "Yeah, I suppose so." He said, holding his hand out to help me up.

The walk back to the castle took us a little while, since we had to half walk, half climb the hill back to the entrance hall. When we reached the doors the janitor was getting ready to close them for the evening. He eyed us both with a creepy sneer on his face as we passed, and then shut the doors with a clang behind us.

We both rushed into the hall which was full of students and teachers, everyone sitting down to the evening meal after our first day of lessons. We had to struggle to get through the crowds of students walking to their tables to get to our own, and when we finally reached them Fred and I smiled to each other. "Guess I'll talk to you later then.." I said nervously.

Fred nodded. "yeah…" and he looked like he wanted to say more but before he had a chance George and Lee came rushing up to us and George hooked his arm into his brothers. "Hey, where've you been? I wanted to ask you something…" And their voices were covered by the crowd as George practically dragged his brother off to sit at the other end of the Gryffindor table and I was left to sit with the boys from Slytherin who eyed me suspiciously, as if I were fraternizing with the enemy.

I sighed and took a seat, ignoring the glares I was getting, and thinking about how much I'd enjoyed the quiet hour by the lake, just sitting and talking with someone who hadn't judged me.

Dinner passed in silence for me, save for a sneering question about that red-haired boy I'd been talking to, which I ignored in favor of the delicious hot turkey on toast I had on my plate.

Soon I was on my way down to my solitary dorm room. I found Sneaker crouched in a corner glaring at nothing when I entered. I smiled to him. "Hi boy, what you got? A mouse?" I looked but didn't see any sign of mouse or insect that he would be staring at so intently. I tilted my head to the side and shrugged, walking over to my bed where I had thrown my bag a minute before. I pulled out my small stack of homework and laying it out on my bed I sat down and started doing research for the inches of essays I would have to complete before the next lessons.

A/N: I haven't had any feedback in a while, I'd appreciate some; if you've got suggestions, criticisms (nothing too harsh, just constructive stuff please!) please leave a review.


	10. Broom Closet Mixup

Disclaimer: The only character in this story that is entirely my creation is Sara Barrett. The rest are in some way influenced by names provided by J.K. Rowling, along with many that are solely her creations and possessions. I tip my hat to that inspirer of young artists.

A/N: This chapter is a little longer than the others have been…I had an idea in my head and couldn't seem to get where I was going until I realized I'd written a lot more than previous chapters. I beg your patience.

Chapter 10: In the Broom Cupboard, Part 1

The next morning, I went to Herbology, where the six of us Slytherins were joined by a handful of Ravenclaws. There were some competitive attitudes between the boys of the houses, while the Ravenclaw girls watched as if they were cheerleaders at a school game. I sat at my bench clearing grubs from a bucket and adding them to the soil in a plant-pot beside me, thinking about the flying lesson I was going to have this afternoon.

I remembered flying on a broom as a small child. It was one of few memories I had, but it was overshadowed by the memory of what happened the first time I tried to get on a broom at the orphanage. I wondered if it would be as fun as I remembered it, and whether or not I'd be any good at it.

Leaving the Greenhouses around mid-morning the Slytherins and Ravenclaws went separate ways with a few threats that when we'd learned a few hexes the Slytherins would bury the Ravenclaws. I shook my head as we made our way to the Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson with Professor Vagan.

We arrived in classroom 14 right on time, and Professor Vagan ushered us into the room with a smile on his face. "Come in, Come in!" He said, sounding pleased to see us all. We all took our seats and I noticed that the group of us all seemed to sit in the same formation, two columns of three boys, and me in the front on the side closest to the door. We sat this way for every lesson.

I thought about this for a second, and then shrugged it off as Professor Vagan told us to take out our books and take a look at the introduction.

"If you have any questions about the material, there will be time at the end of the lesson to discuss them." He commented, and then sat down. It was obvious that he intended us to spend the hour reading the book, and that the chances of us performing magic of any sort were minimal in our first lesson.

I sighed as I bent my head over the pages of "The Dark Force, A Guide to Self Protection." I spent the next hour reading about spells such as _Protego_ and _Expelliarmus_, and their use as defensive incantations, the method of performing such protective spells, and their disadvantages in wizard duels.

When I finished, I lifted my gaze to our instructor. Professor Alloysius Vagan sat at his desk writing intently on a roll of parchment. He was average height and build with short black hair that was kept neatly under his wide brimmed pointed hat. Around his neck he wore a burgundy scarf that made him look somewhat feminine. His face was smooth. He almost looked too young to be a teacher without the beard most of the wizards who taught here wore. I wondered how old he was.

At the end of the lesson, Adrian Pucy raised his hand and waited to be recognized by Professor Vagan. I coughed to get the professor's attention since he seemed quite interested in his writing.

He looked up and seemed surprised to see the entire class looking at him. I smiled, amused by the look on his face. He looked for a moment like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming vehicle.

"Yes, ah, Adrian is it?" He asked, before breathing heavily on the parchment he'd just written on to dry it a little faster.

Adrian sat a little straighter. "Professor, is it true that you can use the disarming spell offensively? Can you show us how to do it?"

Professor Vagan looked slightly taken aback. "I cannot show you how to do it, young man. I will not attack one of my students…." He glanced around at the array of hands that went up. Several of the boys were eager to volunteer so they could see how it was done. "No, I will not demonstrate that spell today. Perhaps later this term when you understand the properties of the spells you read about today."

He glanced at his pocket-watch, and then addressed the entire class. "Your homework for tonight is to read chapters 1-3, and write a summary of your reading to demonstrate your understanding. Class dismissed."

The bell hadn't rung yet, so we were the first to reach the Entrance Hall. A couple of the boys split off and headed straight for the Great Hall for lunch, but I turned down the dark corridor that lead to the Dungeon so I could deposit my bag in my dormitory and feed Sneaker, since I'd forgotten to that morning.

I met Fred and George in the Entrance Hall just as the lunch bell rang. They both smile. They walked to either side of me as we walked into the Great Hall, and I felt almost like I had an escort. Fred was talking to Lee, who had come up behind us, as we walked to the tables. All I heard was something about the Forbidden forest and tomorrow night. I raised an eyebrow and looked over at them and try to listen, full of curiosity, but George took that moment to speak.

He nudged my arm as we reached the table. "So Sara, I was wondering if you'd like to sit beside me for lunch?" He asked, his voice sort of shaky, as if he was nervous.

I shrugged and sat down at the Gryffindor table once again, looking up at the head table to see if there was anything wrong with doing so. None of the teachers seemed disturbed by my sitting there except perhaps Professor Snape, but when I looked up at him he merely turned his gaze back to Professor Sinistra who was talking to him as if there'd been no interruption in his attention.

George seemed to want to ask me something, but Fred kept nudging him and the two of them would bend their heads together and whisper, excluding me. I debated getting up and going over to sit at the Slytherin table, but dismissed the thought after seeing Edward Nott holding what appeared to be a dead snake over one of the second year Slytherin girl's shoulders, only to be blasted back by a disarming spell.

I smirked, and turned my attention to my plate, onto which I piled a few scoops of mashed potatoes, a slice of juicy steak, and some gravy over all of it. My mouth watered at the looks of the food on my plate. Margaret Barrett cooked this meal for her husband once a week, on Tuesday night after what was usually the longest hardest day of the week. It was just what I needed.

I ate my supper, keeping to myself while the boys I was sitting beside conversed secretly. I wondered if they would deign to include me in their plans, but did not consider asking to be involved. A nosy kid was an annoying one, I knew from my days at the orphanage, and I didn't want to lose the friends I hoped I had.

Half an hour later, the bell rang for afternoon classes. First I had History of Magic, and then I had Flying with the Gryffindors which I was very excited about. History of Magic passed slowly. Professor Binns was depressingly boring, and no matter how hard I tried to listen to his lecture on Goblin-Wizard wars, I just couldn't focus. I kept thinking about how much fun it would be to learn how to fly alongside Fred and George.

When the class was finally over we were assigned a 9-inch essay on the Goblin Ulfric the Ugly, and his part in Wizard-Goblin relations prior to the war instigated by Gargon the Grievous. I doubted I'd finish the reading, let alone the writing.

When the bell rang to signal the end of class, Professor Binns seemed surprised that the lesson was over already. He looked at his opalescent pocket-watch, and then shrugged. "Off you go then." He ushered us out of the classroom, the six of us eagerly rushing down the hall to the stairs that led down into the Entrance hall.

I could see the red hair of one of the twins just moving through the door as I started down the stairs and failed to pay attention to which steps I let my foot fall on. I was unfortunate enough to feel the crunch of the step failing, and the short sliding feeling of falling. I was stuck in the trick step.

A few of the students around me laughed and continued on their way to their respective afternoon classes, but none stopped to help me out, and pull and shift all I might I couldn't get my foot loose. Eventually I was in the hall by myself, hoping a teacher would come through on their way to the teacher's lounge and lend their assistance.

I was surprised then, when a blue-haired Hufflepuff girl came rushing through the hall to the top of the steps. She was upset and wasn't paying attention as she rushed down the steps and, just my luck, right into me.

"Oi!" She yelled as she stumbled and I threw out my hand to keep her from falling down the steps. Luckily I had my hand on the rail, and was able to right both of us before any harm was done. When she had regained her balance, and made sure she hadn't lost anything down the stairs, she turned to look at me. "Wotcher kid?"

"My name's Sara!" I exclaimed, frustrated with her for knocking into me again. "And I don't think I'm the only one who needs to watch where I'm going."

She took a moment to size me up, which she spent rubbing the moisture from her eyes. "Yea, look, I'm sorry, uh, Sara." She said looking down. She noticed finally that my foot was stuck. "Want some help?" She asked, pointing down at my foot stuck in the stair.

I nodded. "If you wouldn't mind." I replied a little quieter.

She smiled, pointed her wand at it, and a second later I felt a push on the bottom of my foot as the stair righted itself, and expelled my foot.

"See ya kid." She said, before rushing down the stairs without waiting for my thanks.

I hefted my bag again and headed for the door. A few minutes later I was rushing out onto the grounds to join the rest of the Slytherins and the Gryffindors in their first flying lessons. There were two groups, the separate houses, standing each student beside a broom, and several students were shouting "up" at their broomsticks.

Madam Hooch walked over to me as I arrived with a scowl on her face. "Where've you been young lady?" She asked in a very sharp tone.

I eyed the rest of the students before looking back at her. "I got stuck in the trick stair on my way out here.."

She sighed. "I wish the Headmaster would fix that stair before someone gets hurt.." She muttered and then putting a hand on my shoulder she led me to a frayed and splintered broom. "Stand beside your broom then, hold your hand like this, and give the command "Up." Your broom should rise into your hand.

She looked at the rest of the students. Only Fred and George seemed able to get their brooms to rise into their hands. It looked like they had plenty of practice.

I had to try a few times before I saw any difference in the condition of my broom. When I did notice a change, it was that the bristles frayed a bit more at my command of "up."

Madam Hooch had gone around, testing out many of the brooms herself to ensure they were still capable of flight. She shook her head sadly when she came to mine. She stood over it with her hand held above it, and gave what must've been a silent command to rise, because after a moment, when nothing happened, she sighed. "You'll have to go in and fetch another from the broom cupboard."

Fred and George were flying a few feet off the ground, showing off their apparent skill by doing laps around the entire class.

I turned disappointedly back toward the castle and returned to the Entrance Hall. Under the stair was a door I'd never paid much attention to with a sign that said "Brooms." I assumed that this was the broom cupboard, and approached.

I could hear from within some strange sound, like someone sobbing. Nervously, I twisted the knob and pulled the door open. It was a large closet, with several brooms leaning up against each wall. They ranged in quality from frayed and nicked to rough, but usable. I took only a second to glance around at the brooms, because my eye was drawn to the center of the closet, where the same blue-haired girl sat.

She glared at me, as if I had followed her here just to watch her cry. "Sorry…" I said, holding up the broom I obviously hadn't had before. "Madam Hooch said I should come and get a different broom…"

She shrugged, and turned around, so she was facing away from me.

I put the broom I had brought with me against the wall beside the door and scanned the rest for a decent one. When I found one I thought looked better, I turned back toward the door, but a strange sensation in my stomach made me pause. I looked back over my shoulder at the blue-haired girl. "Are you ok?" I asked.

She turned to glare at me again. "Get to your lesson or I'll report you to Professor Snape!" She practically screamed at me, and fearing being reported to a teacher, I rushed out of the closet, letting the door click shut on its own as I half ran half walked back out to the grounds, hoping that some part of my lesson might be less disastrous.


	11. A Stroll in the Dark

Disclaimer: Characters in this story are the creation and property of J.K. Rowling with the exception of Sara Barrett and her parents.

Chapter 11: A Stroll in the Dark

As I had hoped, broom flight came easy to me. The minute I'd commanded the broom to rise it had jumped into my hand, and I was able to take to the air along with Fred and George. There were now only two students on the ground, both of whom looked totally bored with flying. I didn't pay them even enough attention to determine who they were as the Weasley twins and I took turns chasing each other amidst the two classes.

My excitement throughout the day had exhausted me, and at supper I nearly fell asleep while Fred, George and Lee discussed some secretive plan around me. I don't even recall what I ate, though I remember something one of the twins said about "higher teacher to student ratio then, we'll want to do it before or after……"

After supper, we all went off to our respective dormitories. Fred nudged me as he turned to go up the stairs. "You gonna make it, Sara?" He asked kindly.

I yawned and nodded as I shifted the pack on my shoulder. "Yeah, thanks Frorge.." I mumbled, as I headed down the corridor that would take me to my bedroom. The next thing I knew, Sneaker was purring in my ear and licking my cheek.

I opened my eyes, but it was still dark in my dorm-room. There was only a slight glow of green in the room. I sat up, and pushed aside the blankets. "What is it Sneaker?" He was purring and rubbing up against my legs, darting toward the door and then returning to rub against my legs again. I tilted my head to the side. "Time for a walk?" I asked.

He chirped.

I sighed. We did this occasionally during the short time we'd been at my parent's house. Sneaker would wake me, and then drag me out of bed and often out of the house to show me some neat thing he'd discovered in his wanderings. It always happened in the middle of the night.

I pulled my robe on over my pajamas, grabbed my wand, and headed for the door, trying not to trip over Sneaker as I walked, though at first it was difficult because he kept hovering around my feet.

"Why do cats have to be nocturnal?" I asked him as we walked through the stone wall that hid the Slytherin dormitory. He purred, and walked ahead. I lost sight of him, and was forced to listen carefully for the sound of his steps on the floor. I grumbled, afraid to say the spell to light my wand, in case it would be seen by someone.

The darkness seemed almost suffocating. I could hear my own heart beating loudly in my chest as we made our way along corridor after corridor. I lost track of where I was and hoped that Sneaker knew how to get back to our room. I also began to fear that we might run into a teacher, or a ghost…I wondered how we'd managed so far to be out of beds out of hours without getting caught.

Sneaker purred again just ahead of me, and I heard him turn a corner. There was a patch of bluish light ahead of me in the corridor. I couldn't tell what it was, but I heard something different now.

It was the blue haired girl. She was sitting on the floor with her back to the wall, her wand pointed up in the air to give her a minimal amount of light. She seemed to just be sitting there, either lost in thought or asleep.

I was about to turn around and go the other way to avoid detection, but Sneaker ran right up to her and started rubbing her leg.

She jumped, startled by his sudden appearance, and then she looked around. "Oi, you again?" She asked.

At least this time she wasn't crying. "Sneaker brought me here…" I shrugged.

She stood up, and fidgeted. She looked uncomfortable. I was sure the last thing she wanted was to get caught out of bed at night….by another student. It's almost better to get caught by a teacher.

"Hey, look, I can leave you alone if you want?" I asked, turning back the way I had come already.

She looked like she wanted to say yes, but her head shook no.

"Do you mind if I ask….what your name is?" I inquired, walking closer so I didn't have to speak so loud.

"Tonks. Dora Tonks."

I smiled. Finally a name to go with this girl who kept running into me! "My name's Sara." I replied, bending to pet Sneaker as he came to me for a leg-rub. "You changed your hair.." I commented, recalling that it had been pink the first time we'd bumped into each other.

She shrugged. "It does that…changes with my mood."

I felt my jaw drop. "It changes with your mood? That is so cool!"

She smiled, but we both stood there kind of awkwardly, so she moved back against the wall and sat down again. I walked closer. "Mind if I join you?"

She shrugged. "You really think it's cool that my hair changes color?" She asked, looking over at me as Sneaker squeezed between us for affection.

I nodded. "Yeah, I've never seen anyone with pink or blue hair…"

Sneaker rubbed up against her side and purred. I glanced up at a painting on the wall across from us. It was a portrait of a merchant in Venetian garb. He slept soundly in his portrait.

I thought to myself about how strange it was that I'd accepted all the new things as if I'd never lived with muggles. I figured it must be that somewhere in my mind I'd known about people moving in pictures, about brooms flying, stuff like that all my life.

I bit my lip as I looked sideways at Dora. "So….how come you've been so upset?" I asked cautiously. "Every time I see you you're crying, or by yourself….what's…wrong?" I hoped I wasn't prying too much. I just felt bad that she was always so sad.

Dora took a deep breath. "Oh, just….boys. You'll understand when you're older." She petted Sneaker. He loved the attention and climbed onto her knees, head-butting her eagerly.

I wondered how much older she was than me but didn't figure now would be a good time to ask, so I shrugged. "Probably." I agreed.

She looked sideways at me, "got a boyfriend?" She asked, curiously.

I shook my head no. "nope…not yet."

She smiled sadly. "Keep it that way, eh? Boys are nothing but trouble.." She advised. "All they want is to bore you with quidditch facts, and snog you between classes. They don't care what you want, and they never pay attention to what you wear or how long you spend in the bathroom putting on makeup.."

"Not all boys are the same.." I said hopefully, but she just tilted her head at me.

"You'll see, like I said, when you're older… You probably still believe boys have cooties…"

I felt a little insulted. "I'm not six. I know boys don't have cooties…there are a couple guys in my year that I really like…but I'm too nervous to approach any of them." I was surprised I'd confided in her about my interest in the Weasley brothers. For some reason I just felt comfortable talking to her.

We probably would've kept chatting but just then Sneaker jumped onto my lap and dug me with his claws. It was so unusual for Sneaker I almost yelled, but I heard a rustling down the hallway, and Dora put out the light of her wand.

"Get back to your dorm, quick. Filch's coming this way.." She whispered quietly, as I caught the gleam of a pair of eyes close to the floor…Mrs. Norris. I heard quiet footsteps retreating down the hall and I assumed that Dora had gone back to her dorm, but I was trapped. I had no idea how to get back to my dorm from where I was, and I had come from the direction that Mrs. Norris was in now. I'd have to get around her.

I could hear Mr. Filch's footsteps now and glanced in either direction for a door to an empty classroom. The only one was at the opposite end of the corridor. I ran for it as quietly as I could and Sneaker kept right at my side, but before I touched the knob I heard Mr. Filch. "Stop! I've caught you!"

I'd been caught.

A/N: Please leave a review! I'd love to hear from my readers.


	12. Shackles and Chains

Disclaimer: The characters in this story are the creation of J.K. Rowling. I pray that Ms. Rowling doesn't mind my use of her chars in my own work of art.

A/N: I would really appreciate some opinions from you, the reader. What do you think of Sara and the story in general. Advice, suggestions, etc.

Chapter 12: Shackles and Chains

The inside of Filch's office was dark and sinister. He had a firm grip on my arm as he pushed the door open and shoved me inside. He followed closely, mumbling something about "after hours" and "string her up by her toes," to which I gasped. I wasn't sure what they did to kids who misbehaved here. Were such medieval forms of torture allowed on young witches?

He let go of me just inside the door and walked around a small shabby desk. On top of the desk were a few sheets of paper, mostly blank forms. I didn't pay much attention to them. My eyes were instead drawn upward, toward the ceiling. Hanging on various hooks and pegs were different types of manacles and shackles. The wall behind the desk was decorated with a large portrait of a man chained to a wooden post while he was being whipped.

He eyed me over the desk, and then followed my gaze to the painting behind him. "Mmm, yes, once I would've been allowed to flog you, stretch you, whip you….but no more. You'll have detention now. Such a poor form of punishment it is, but I have no choice. Let's see, which professor shall it be…." He paused and looked down a list of professors. I could see through the parchment that several of them had check marks next to their names, some more than others. He ran his finger down the list and paused on one that had very few check marks. "McGonagall it is."

I shook my head. "Please, sir, anyone but Professor McGonagall." I pleaded, wringing my hands in front of me.

He smiled, and wheezed. "McGonagall it is, my dear…" He gave an almost evil grin as he wrote the professor's name on a form, and then looked up. "Your name, girl." He sneered, and waited for my reply.

I hesitated, debating giving him a false name. What would happen if I lied? How would he know? I wondered, but when I tried to think of a fake name to give him I couldn't think one up on the spot. "Sara, sir, Sara Barrett." I replied, hanging my head, thinking to myself that if word got back to my parents they'd be so disappointed in me.

He wrote my name on the top of the form, folded it, and then held it up in front of me. "I'll be notifying her straight away. Off to your dormitory now, and to bed with you." He pointed toward the door.

Once the door closed behind me, Sneaker reappeared at my side. I hadn't realized he hadn't gone into the office with me. I tilted my head to the side and looked down at him. "Thanks Sneaker, for getting me in trouble." I sighed, as he chirped and started walking a bit faster. He led me back to my dormitory, but once we got there, he gave a low meow and then took off again. I hoped he didn't want me to follow him again, because I wasn't willing to get into more trouble just yet.

I walked back into my room and climbed back into the bed which had grown cold in my absence, except by the foot of it where a heating iron had recently been placed under the covers and left to warm the bed for a while. I could still feel the heat of it, but it had been removed before I returned to my room.

I wondered who had been in my room, but while I considered the possibilities, my eyes drifted closed and I fell back to sleep.

The next morning, I woke to the bell for first lessons. I yawned, thinking it was the breakfast bell, but the rush of girls in the corridor outside my room warned me otherwise. I looked out, and asked what all the rush was, and one of the sixth year Slytherin girls told me what time it was.

I dashed back into my room and pulled on my robes. When I looked at my schedule I let out a groan. Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall. I threw my book into my bag, along with my quill, and note parchment.

I yawned as I ran along the corridor, hoping to make it to the transfiguration classroom on time. I was glad it was on the first floor. I slowed as I reached the right corridor. Minerva McGonagall was standing in the doorway of her classroom waiting for me. The look on her face was hard to read. Our last meeting had been….dramatic. I forced my eyes away from her, to look into the classroom instead of at her before I entered the room and moved silently to a seat at the back of the room.

I wondered for a moment if this was how my year was going to go. I had looked forward most to this class, and yet I dreaded it the most now. In all the six years since my parents had died, I had wondered what had come of my governess, and now, now I was so confused. I felt weighed down with hate and fear of the answers she could give, and yet I was stuck. I couldn't move forward without those answers, and there was absolutely no going back.

Although last class she had called all the students toward the front, today Professor McGonagall did nothing of the sort. She took note of the students in her room, checked off the attendance sheet, and then picked up a box of matches. She set them on Adrian Pucy's desk, and quietly asked him to pass them out. "To start with, we will resume our attempts to change our matches into needles. Let me see how you have progressed since our last lesson."

As the class began their transformation of the matchsticks, Professor McGonagall walked around the room quietly. I could hear the swish of her robes as she moved among the students. It got louder as she neared my desk. I tried to focus on my match, on turning it into a needle.

I held my wand in my hand, moving it in the motion we had practiced last lesson. My voice shook as she walked behind me. I could smell the perfume she wore. I remembered the scent, it smelled like Lavender. I recalled laying in bed as she read to me, breathing in her perfume. It had been comforting then, and over the years occasionally I'd think I smelled it, but Minnie had never reappeared.

I spoke the incantation that was supposed to change my match to a needle, but all that happened was my match lit, and the sudden smell of sulfur covered the scent of her perfume. She waved her wand over the match and it went out, and then she walked away. Just like she'd done six years ago when she'd left me at the orphanage.

I managed to transform my match right before the end of class. I packed my stuff back into my bag and rose to leave, hoping to get out the door without having to speak to Professor McGonagall, but she met me at the door. "We need to talk." She said, and then looked at the other students, waiting for them to file out ahead of me.

I stood beside the door, waiting for the boys to leave. Adrian hesitated in the doorway like he wanted to say something but a look from Professor McGonagall sent him on his way.

When the classroom had emptied, Minerva closed the door and locked it with a spell from her wand. "I know you," She started to say something, but I cut her off.

"No, you don't know me. Maybe if you hadn't abandoned me at that muggle orphanage you'd know me, but you don't have a clue who I am!" I said angrily.

Minerva sighed, and walked back to her desk silently. "You're right. I should've come back sooner….." She shook her head and took her glasses off, wiping them clean on her robes. She replaced them a moment later and lifted her hazel eyes to meet mine. "You have a detention to serve, I believe. While I think it would be best if you did so with another Hogwarts professor, it seems they all have plans, and the headmaster thinks….well, we disagree. You'll have your detention this Friday. We'll be doing a lot of writing, so please come prepared." She waved her hand at the locked door and I heard a faint click as the door came open. There was a queue of students outside of it waiting to start their transfiguration class.

Minerva held up a piece of paper for me. "Give this to Professor Flitwick. You'll be late. I'm…." She paused, her eyes moving from the door back to me. "Sorry." She finished, and I knew she meant it, but it did nothing to ease the anger I felt.


	13. Detention

Disclaimer: Most of the characters in this story are the property of J.K. Rowling and her publishers. I claim no rights to them, and hope she is lenient with me if ever she discovers I'm playing about with her characters. It is, solely, for non-profitable use.

Chapter 13 Detention

Charms was not nearly as eventful as I expected it to be. I was hoping to learn some neat magic, but all I learned was how to make my quill float a foot above my desk. Levitation of small items was boring stuff. "Wingardium Leviosa" seemed to echo around the classroom throughout the lesson, and when the lesson was over, I hoped I'd never have to hear it again.

I dropped my bag off in my dorm, put food out for Sneaker and then made my way, hungrily, toward lunch. My stomach rumbled as I walked into the dining hall.

Just as I walked through the door I heard "Wotcher" from behind me. Dora was walking a pace behind me. When I turned to look at her, she grimaced. "Sorry 'bout last night…I heard Filch caught you."

I nodded. "Yeah, I got detention with Professor McGonagall." I walked toward my house's table.

Dora nodded. "She's not so bad. Well, see ya." She waved and headed toward the Hufflepuff table. I thought to myself "You've got no idea.."

Fred and George were missing from the Gryffindor table, so I sat at the Slytherin table, piling the food onto my plate hungrily. Eddie Nott grinned stupidly across the table at me. "You've got a hearty appetite for a girl" He sneered.

I just shrugged, and took a bite of a sandwich. I wondered what the Weasley twins were up to today that they hadn't come to lunch on time, then I remembered that their dormitory was up in one of the towers, and it was quite a walk. Depending on where their last lesson had been, they likely had quite a walk between lesson and lunch.

I finished my first sandwich, and started on a second, while thinking about Herbology lessons, which were next. The Slytherin's and Ravenclaws shared the lesson. I didn't really know anyone from the Ravenclaw house. It surprised me how little loyalty I felt toward my own small group of housemates. Perhaps the Sorting hat had sorted me into the wrong house…

Herbology and Defense against the Dark Arts both passed by quickly. I'd grimace every time the bell rang, considering how q uick the time seemed to pass between them. I was not ready to face Minerva McGonagall just yet.

Unfortunately, the time to make my way to her office arrived right on schedule, no matter how much I willed time to slow down.

I dragged my feet along the smooth floor of the castle hall. A character in one of the paintings even scolded me for scuffing the floor with my uniform shoes. Minerva was standing at the door waiting for me. Apparently I wasn't the only one who'd been in trouble recently, and I was relieved to see Fred sitting inside the classroom. This would prevent any one on one time from allowing Minnie to try apologizing.

I walked into the room, giving her an unhappy glare as I made my way to a seat beside Fred. "I see the Witch got you too, eh?" I mumbled as I sat down.

He grinned, but then his expression soured. "my hand is already cramped, and I've only been here five minutes." He replied, pointing to a stack of papers which looked as though the text had been faded, and in places it shown dark where he'd written over a lighter neater scrawl.

Minnie walked to her desk. "We're repairing old school records. Anywhere a word has faded we are rewriting them with unfading ink. Your inkwell is already prepared for you. Please write neatly."

She sat down primly and pulled her own stack of papers closer. For a moment I found myself caught off guard. I had not expected her to take part in the work. It earned her a tiny amount of respect, which I quickly squashed like a bug and started in on my assigned stack of papers.

I did not take the time to write neatly. I wanted to get rid of the stack of papers as quickly as possible. Every time I finished a sheet, I'd glance up to see how Fred was doing. We silently agreed to race through our stacks; a race which I won. Little did I expect when I had finished with the first pile, that a second was ready and waiting for my untidy scribble.

When the two hour detention was over, Professor McGonagall collected the piles of repaired records and somehow spelled them away. The remaining stack, she moved to her desk. She nodded to both of us. "Your hall passes are on the desk by the door..Mr. Filch should not give you any trouble for being out of bed after hours, however, do not tarry in the hall." She spoke so formally. I could hardly relate her to the same loving woman I had remembered from my childhood.

Fred and I both rose from our seats and silently went toward the door. I glanced over my shoulder only to see Professor McGonagall facing the window, as if intently trying not to watch us leave. No matter how angry I was with her, seeing her sad was hard for me. I wanted to apologize for being angry, but I could not bring myself to walk over to her.

Fred nudged my shoulder, and I turned back around. We started to walk down the corridor. We'd have a short walk together, since once we reached the end of this corridor he'd go up, and I'd go down.

His voice was soft when he spoke, so low I barely heard him ask "How are you?" in a serious, concerned tone.

I shrugged. "I'm ok I guess. Where have you and George been? I haven't seen either of you at dinner lately."

He smiled. It was apparent how pleased he was I had noticed his absence. "We've been planning a trip to the Forest." He stated matter of factly. "I was wondering if you'd want to come with."

I raised my eyes in shock. "Really? Isn't it against school rules to go there? Isn't it dangerous?" I asked, both awed and eager to break the rules.

He nodded, his smile fading as if he were afraid I might tell on him. "Well, we're only thinking about going…." He tried to sound like they were only considering breaking school rules. I smiled inwardly.

"I'd love to come…when are you going?" I asked as we reached the end of the corridor.

"We haven't decided yet. I'll let you know.." He replied as he looked up the stairs where a faint light could be seen flickering, as if someone were walking toward the stairs with a lantern. Sure enough, Filch was on his way to try to catch us out of bounds. We could already hear him mumbling something about detention.

"I'll see you Fred." I said quietly, and started around the corner to go down to the first year dormitory, and I heard Filch ask for Fred's hall pass as he met him on the stairs.

A few moments later I was through the glowing green wall, and snuggly tucked into my bed, hoping to dream of an adventure in the dark forest with Fred.

Instead, I had a horrible nightmare.

A/N: Any suggestions? Advice welcome.


	14. An Aside

Disclaimer: The characters in this chapter are the possession of J.K. Rowling.

Chapter 14. An Aside

Severus mumbled an oath under his breath as Albus approached his office. The door normally stood ajar during the evening hours so that his students would feel comfortable approaching him, though now he wished he'd locked it after the last bell.

The headmaster closed the door as he came through it and took a seat across from the potions master. "Word has come from Azkaban that Voldemort's followers are quieting down."

Severus nodded. "Halloween is just around the corner. Nine years is a long time to wait for the dark lord to return. Our marks have faded." At this he rubbed the sleeve of his robe just above his wrist. "I think many have accepted his disappearance as permanent now."

The headmaster nodded. "They are foolish to do so, but I think you are right."

Severus could not hide his disbelief at the old man's words. "You are confident then that he will return?"

Albus Dumbledore looked over his spectacles with one eyebrow raised. "It is….only a matter of time." The younger man rose and started pacing. This went on for a few moments before the headmaster's expression softened. "How is your young cousin? Minerva tells me the girl is very angry with her."

Severus seemed surprised by the change of topic and returned to his seat. There was a portrait on his desk of him and a younger woman. The woman smiled and waved out of the frame. He lifted this and looked closely at it. "Her mother was my favorite of all my relatives. She was beautiful in a way similar to…" he looked up at the headmaster "Her." He finished pointedly. "I hate McNair. If I could prove it was he who betrayed them to the dark lord I'd kill him myself; but even the whole wizengamot ruled him innocent. Yes, Sara is very angry, but I think it comes from being confused. She wonders why her parents were killed, but even more, I think, she wonders why she was put aside, sent to live with muggles, and away from wizard-kind."

Dumbledore stroked his long gray beard. "You are most likely wondering why I felt it important for Minerva to sever her ties to the family after Sara's parents were killed. I must admit it was harder on the child than I would ever wish, but I feared for Minerva's life. Taking Sara into her care would have linked her directly to a family that was a known target. I was…afraid that Voldemort would finish the job he had started, and murder Minerva in the process."

Severus nodded in agreement. "Voldemort searched for weeks after the killings at that gala for the children of the victims. Many of them were killed. Sara is one of the few lucky enough to have been out of reach."

Dumbledore peered at the potions master with an odd sort of grin. "Ah, about that. I wonder…why is it that Miss Barrett remained out of your master's reach? I always wondered how Voldemort managed to overlook the girl."

Severus shifted in his seat uncomfortably. "It was the least I could do for my cousin, to remove her child from harm. I wish…" He looked down. "I wish I had realized what Voldemort would take from me, before I swore my service to him."

The headmaster nodded. "Indeed, you did lose much, but you have Sara now. She will need you more than ever in the time to come. She is likely already trying to find out who killed her parents, or who betrayed them to Voldemort. I am not sure how much she remembers. Perhaps it would've been better for Minerva to perform the memory erasing spell on the child. Then she would not recall the life she had before."

Severus shook his head. "No. It is important that she has what memory she has of her parents. Lily's son does not have that. He will never remember his mother's smiles…" His voice trailed off.

Dumbledore stood. "Please look after the girl. If there is anything I can do, you know where my office is."

Severus rubbed his temples as the door creaked open. He did not feel it necessary to reply.

A glance toward the open window told him the sun had set during the headmaster's visit. He waved his wand and the office door creaked closed again, shutting him in. He folded his head onto his arms and thought about his childhood, and the two best friends he had, both of whom had been killed by the dark lord during his reign of terror.

A/N: I know it's a little different, I'm having a little difficulty writing the dream chapter, but I'll get there. Advice, suggestions, comments welcome!


	15. A Dark Dream

Disclaimer:

Most of the characters in this story are the copyrighted property of J.K. Rowling. One or two of them are my own creation, and I'm merely bandying about with J.K. Rowling's creations with my spare time. Forgive if I offend, and I shall return the favor.

Chapter 15: A Dark Dream

The lonely hoot of an owl broke an eerie silence as I stood, panting, with my back to a tree. I couldn't hear anything over the throbbing thunder of my heart in my ears as I strained to hear the sounds of feet falling on dried sticks, on the light dusting of leaves that had fallen already this year.

Finally, after what seemed like a decade, I could hear the distinct sound of human footsteps, but they were irregular, as if the person were dragging a limb. I hesitated to reveal myself, because whoever it was was on the other side of the tree from me, and at the moment, I was safe. I still didn't know what had happened. Had we been attacked by an animal? Or…another wizard?

All I knew was that Fred, George, and Lee had all gone in different directions than I had, and at the moment, I was totally alone. I weighed the options. I was inexperienced with a wand, I had no lantern, and dared not use the light spell and reveal myself, so I waited, and strained to look through the darkness to see who was walking past, hoping they would not hear the pounding of my heart.

Finally I could make out the fiery red hair that had to belong to one of the twins, just visible by the half-light of the moon through the trees. I whispered. "Fred?" I asked, pleading that it was not our attacker.

George turned to face me. "Nah, George" He whispered back, and he limped to my side. "You ok?" He asked, turning to look back the way he'd come.

I nodded. "Yeah, fine..where's Fred and Lee?"

George shrugged. "I dunno. Lee was kinda lagging behind. I think he might have attacked us.."

I gasped and squinted through the dark. "Can't have done..he's your best friend, save Fred of course.."

George shook his head. The motion would've gone unnoticed had the light not reflected off his hair as it moved. "I heard strange a noise and turned to look at you and Fred, and the light came from behind you two…"

I nodded. I had heard the noise from behind too, but I hadn't noticed Lee when I'd looked for the source of the light, and when George had yelled "RUN!" I'd done as he had said. "What happened to your leg?" I asked George, as he bent down to rub his pant leg. "I fell on a root and scraped it up pretty bad."

I nodded. "Madam Pomfrey will be able to fix that up in no time, once we get back to the castle."

A light appeared a few feet away, and I heard Fred say "Lumos." As he approached us through the darkness. The light from the tip of his wand hurt my eyes and I squinted against them. We both lowered our wands slightly.

"Where's Lee?" I asked, growing more concerned as time went on, but something was wrong with Fred. I raised my hand to block out the glare of his wand.

Fred didn't respond to my question. Instead he pointed his wand at George and shouted "Expelliarmus!" causing George's wand to fly into the air and bounce off of the tree behind us. It fell a few feet out of reach.

I gasped, raising my wand, but Fred used the same disarming spell against me, and then called "Accio wands" and both wands floated through the air into his waiting hand. He called out another spell, one that sounded like Abra Kadabra. There was a flash of green light and George fell on the ground beside me. He didn't move after that. I dropped to my knees and rolled him over. One of the lessons we'd learned in the orphanage was CPR, but I could tell instantly that there was nothing I could do.

I wanted to scream, but adrenaline was already coursing through my veins. I looked up at Fred who had moved closer, his wand now pointed at me. "Why Fred?" I asked, trying to think of a way to get to my wand but it was too far away.

Fred shook his head a tiny bit, as if saying he didn't do it, but his mouth opened, and he replied "You should have been killed many years ago, I am only finishing the Dark Lord's work, as I have been doing these long years since."

There was another flash of green light, and then sudden darkness. For a second there was nothing, and then I was lying on the floor beside my bed, gasping for air that didn't seem to be reaching my lungs.

Severus Snape was in the doorway of my dormitory, a look of concern on his face as he entered. He walked over to me, and gently lifted me off of the floor. "Are you alright Sara? You woke the entire dorm…" He said as a wall of faces came into focus in the corridor outside my room. "To bed, all of you." He called over his shoulder. There was a little bit of commotion as everyone shuffled back to their rooms.

He led me to my bed, and then poured me a glass of water. "Do you wish to discuss your dream?" He asked, as he draped my dressing gown over my shoulders.

I shook my head, taking a shaky sip of water and setting the cup down on my bedside stand. I knew that by telling him about my dream, he'd find out about the rule-breaking that Fred, George, Lee and I were going to be committing in a few weeks.

He looked me over, as if checking to see if I were really ok, and then voiced his question. "Are you alright?"

I nodded, and finally choked out "I'm fine...it was just a dream."

He sat down beside me on the bed. "If you need to talk….." He leaned forward and kissed my forehead then rose and left.

I climbed back under the covers, shivering from the shock of my dream. I wondered at the tenderness Snape had shown, and remembered how he said I looked like my mother. He must have really loved her I thought as sleep quickly reclaimed me.

A/N: The usual…questions, comments, suggestions, all welcome.


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